The candidates endorsed by Mayor Stephen R. Reed have been granted a recount in the Democratic race for the Harrisburg City Council.

With a dozen votes separating the second through fourth finishers in the Democratic primary, the Dauphin County Election Board has agreed to take another look at the vote tallies and compare them to voter signatures.

The board certified all the results today from the May 15 primary except the Democratic side of the council race, which saw seven candidates vying for three party nominations.

"They asked us to do it, and with it this close, we're doing it," Chiavetta said.

He said the recount would start tomorrow and be finished by June 6, when the results are expected to be certified.

Chiavetta added that there were "a couple of discrepancies" that cast a shadow on the outcome. That and the closeness of the races  three candidates were five to seven votes apart  justified the recount, he said.

Chiavetta said election workers will count vote signatures in the election book from each precinct. The number of Democratic voters who signed in on election day will then be compared with the number of Democratic votes tallied by the voting machines. "We want to make sure the numbers match," he said.

Both Martin-Roberts and Wilson added three votes to their totals compared to the results announced on election night, and Koplinski added one vote.

If the results stand, those three would pick up Democratic nods.

Smith was just five votes behind with 1,545 but out of the running for a Democratic nomination. Jackson was fifth with 1,520, and Kia Hansard and Patricia Smith trailed with 1,345 and 683 votes respectively.

The three eventual Democratic winners would face a Republican slate dominated by the Reed team in the general election this fall.

According to certified results, Jackson had 245 write-in GOP votes, Koplinski 237 and Smith 236 to sweep the three Republican nominations.

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